My teacher slayed the snake!
by Cabin3Demigod
Summary: Teddy Lupin isn't a troublesome child-he's just misunderstood. When he gets a detention with his  least  favorite Herbology Professor, who has been through similar struggles as him, will Teddy have a breakthrough? Remus/Tonks talk pops up.


Teddy Lupin wasn't a troublesome second year, yet he wasn't the least sinful either. Teddy had had his share of detentions and scoldings in his first two years at Hogwarts, but he wasn't a bad kid.

His Herbology Professor seemed to know this. Anyone with a brain knew that Teddy couldn't stand Herbology. It was the only subject that turned his hair red without him being provoked. Teddy thought of Herbology as pointless. He preferred to keep that producer/consumer line between himself and plants. They created the air, which he breathed, and he paid them back with carbon dioxide. Of course, every now and then Teddy would eat a salad or two and swear he couldn't breath for two days straight, but he still preferred that line to be there.

He didn't care about plants at all. With the amount that he'd stepped on in his lifetime, Teddy felt lucky that he was still able to breathe.

Not only was Herbology too boring, but it was also the class that Teddy had received more than half of his detentions in. Teddy thought that so many detentions from the same Professor were unnecessary. So what if he'd used several unforgivable curses on some plants, or attempted to kill a bowtruckle by beating it with his wand once...There were loads more in the world, right?

Teddy sighed in his current state. He was sitting in Professor Longbottom's office, his legs crossed. He'd gotten detention once again, and he was sure that Professor Longbottom was as tired of Teddy getting detention as much as Teddy was himself. Teddy hadn't noticed his Professor come in the door, so he was surprised when Professor Longbottom said, "Hello, Teddy," from the shadows.

Teddy jumped up, grabbing onto his back pocket, where his wand was hidden. He calmed down when Professor Longbottom stepped forward, and he put his wand back. _Idiot_, Teddy thought. _Why are you such a wuss, Ted?_

"Hello, Neville," Teddy grinned.

Neville rolled his eyes. "It's Professor Longbottom, Teddy. Would you like another detention?"

"You know you wouldn't do that," Teddy said cockily. "We both don't want to be here right now."

"Correct you are," Neville said seriously. He crossed his arms.

"Whoa, what's busting your chops?" Teddy said.

"Nothing, really," Neville said. "I just believe that I've triumphed...with you."

"With me?" Teddy demanded. No one had ever triumphed with him. He was the most popular man in the world! The destroyer of the Darkest wizard to ever live and the greatest Auror to set foot in the wizarding world! Oh, wait, that was Harry. Teddy grimaced and mentally slapped himself for his stupidity.

"Yes, with you. All these detentions! Something's wrong with you, young man."

"You calling me crazy?" Teddy growled, clutching his wand once more. He wasn't afraid to fight a teacher. His lack of fear had been what had caused him to use 'petrificus totalus' on his Potions Professor, nearly killing Professor Lovegood in the process. Teddy liked to leave the story short, saying that his Potions Professor 'tripped' and fell on top of his Divination Professor.

"No, no, son." Neville said calmly. He stroked the stubble below his moustache.

Teddy recoiled. _Son? Did he just refer to me as his son?_ Teddy cleared his throat. "Dad?" he whispered.

Neville smiled sadly. "No, Ted. That's exactly your problem." When Teddy didn't respond, he continued. "You see, you're not a bad kid." _Then why am I getting detentions from you all the time?_ Teddy shrugged off the thought as his Professor moved closer. He'd at least wait to hear what Neville had to say before he decided to start getting playful. "But you have had a pretty bad life."

"Bad life?" Teddy growled. He hadn't had a bad life. Teddy had spent practically his whole life surrounded by loving family and friends-and the best wizard of them all, Harry Potter. "What are you talking about? I'm over at _Harry Potter_'s four times a week," Teddy said matter-of-factly. He was a hot shot. He was sure that Neville had only heard of Harry, dreamed of meeting him-.

"I'm aware of that, Teddy," Neville yawned. He looked bored. At Ted's questioning look, Neville gained a twinkle in his eyes. "You're speaking to Harry's dorm mate for six years. And, in case you didn't know, I destroyed one of Voldemort's very last Hocruxes."

"Oh," Teddy said quietly. "Which one did you…?" Teddy trailed off at the menacing look on his Professor's face. "Never mind," he said hastily.

Neville continued. "You've been around Harry Potter, yes. You're extremely popular, so I've heard. All of that is great—until you finally realize that your life has been much like mine."

"How so?" Teddy was much more interested now. Of course, he wouldn't tell his friends how similar he was to his thirty-something Herbology Professor, but he was curious to know just what the old coot was talking about.

Neville folded his hands together. _By Merlin, I swear, if he makes one more stupid hand gesture…._

"See, Ted," he started. "I was very much like you at your age: Courageous, brave, a bit out of the 'in' crowd. We both have been around the most famous wizard alive, and the tricky part is, Harry wanted us to be with him. Not like his adoring fans that didn't know him well and still don't. We've had that pleasure, to get to know the _real_ Harry Potter." He paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating. "Ted, we've both been raised by our Grandmothers-and, if you haven't noticed." He took a deep breath. "Our Mums' and Dads' lives have been threatened by the Lestranges. Generally, mine were luckier than yours, being tortured and not…murdered."

Teddy bowed his head. That really hit home. He knew how his Professor must have felt, must be feeling. And to live with that pain for thirty-something years…Teddy was having a hard time dealing with it at twelve. He wasn't really sure if he could make it to thirteen, let alone thirty. Teddy missed his parents more and more everyday. Sure, Neville surely saw his parents, but with them in a tortured state…it was probably worse than them being dead. Teddy's parents were gone, though. That was for sure. He feared the pain would become unbearable soon enough…

"You-Yours, too?" Teddy was crying now.

Neville nodded. "Mine too." He patted Teddy on the back. "You've got to learn to live with it Ted."

"But it's so hard! I miss them, and I didn't even know them. Do you know how that feels? To have a burning desire in your heart for someone you barely even know?"

"Yes, I know, Ted." Neville said soothingly. "But you can't let that get in the way of your learning and behavior in school."

"I'm sorry." Teddy whispered. The office was quiet for a few minutes, then-

"It was…hard for me to get over too." Neville admitted. "The fact that—that I couldn't be with them all the time. It hurt me so much. And my Grandmother had her doubts in me, wanted me to be just like them. But when I slayed that snake, she thought differently. And so did I. As Gryffindor's sword went through that serpent, I knew my parents were proud. And they always had been. And they still are, Ted. Just remember, your parents are always—."

"The snake?" Teddy interjected. "You slayed the snake, Neville?"

"Professor Longbottom, Teddy." Neville smirked. "And yes, yes I did."

Teddy's hair turned a bright shade of purple, though his face turned serious. "What you said—about your parents being proud of you no matter what—was that true?" There was a look of terror in his eyes, for he feared Neville's answer.

"Yes, Ted. It's very true. " Neville said, causing Teddy to sigh in relief. Neville studied him for a moment. "You know, Ted." He started. "I knew your parents…"

"You did?" Teddy asked enthusiastically. He'd heard stories about his parents, about how great and noble they had been. How his father, Remus, had died trying to make a better world for Teddy to live in. How his mother, Nymphadora —who had preferred to be called 'Tonks'— died right beside him with almost certainly the same idea in mind. Harry had told Teddy that even though his father had been a bookworm, he'd also been a mischievous, trouble-making Marauder like Harry's own deceased father, James. Ginny had recited to Teddy stories about the times she'd shared with his mother: shopping, nail painting, girly things. He usually dozed off in the middle of _those_. And last, but not least, Teddy's Grandma Dromeda had spoken with him about the relationship of his parents that had eventually formed him: the good and the bad. Though Teddy was still a little upset about how his father had left him and his mother alone for weeks, he still wanted a relationship like theirs. Teddy had been told he same stories since he'd turned five, and as much as he loved to hear them time and time again, he wanted someone else's intake on his parents' relationship, someone else's experiences with them.

"Of course," Neville grinned. "Who didn't? Let me see…would you like to hear a story?"

"Yeah," Teddy said, a bit too enthusiastically. "Er…I mean, sure, whatever," he repeated, a bit calmer.

Neville chuckled. "All right. But don't expect to hear your Mum's name much." He winked. "I didn't spend a great deal of time with _her_." He cleared his throat, and began, Teddy clinging onto his every word. "See, Ted, I was frightened of a lot as a kid. I was afraid of dragons and dungeons, snakes and worms, my _Grandmother_—and my Potions Professor, Professor Snape."

Teddy chuckled. "Your _Grandmother_?" What a wuss! But he left that part out…

"Yes, _my Grandmother_," Neville continued in mock anger. "She was a very scary person. Moving along then. Where were we? Snape, right. Well, I was afraid of him. First of all, his classroom was in a dungeon, and he was a Slytherin, which naturally meant he didn't have a great fear of snakes. I was afraid mostly that he'd zap one at me for not completing a potion correctly, which was good that he didn't, because I sucked like Cauldron bum at making potions." _Like me with Herbology… _

"But one day in third year, your Dad came along. It was the first day of school. That day, we were working with boggarts. You're familiar with them, correct?" Teddy nodded and Neville continued. "Well, I was really shy because I knew what mine was going to be."

"Snape?" Teddy grinned.

Neville waved his finger. "Yes. Your father paid no attention to my hesitation; instead he made me go first. He told me the spell, let the boggart out, and I did it. He taught me to believe in myself that day. And that's how I went on to destroy Voldemort's snake. I was upset when I learned your parents were dead. They had been really amazing, noble wizards." He ended dramatically.

"That's it?" Teddy demanded. "More!"

"Whatever you say," Neville laughed. "My friend Fred died the same night as them. I was so angry, I wanted to get revenge, and since Voldemort had been defeated, there was only one person that came to mind: Snape. Everyone had figured out that Snape had been a Death Eater about a year before, when he murdered Albus Dumbledore, the last Head before McGonagall. I almost went searching for Snape, too, before Harry Potter himself informed us that Snape was dead. It turned out that he'd been on our side all along, and that Dumbledore had wanted to die. Snape had been an honorable man, just as noble as your parents. What a fool I was for even thinking of killing him."

Neville sighed. "The point is, you don't know if something is good or bad unless you look behind the veil, like we all did with Snape. Your Dad showed me how to do that, and I'm sure he would want you to practice it too. So, what I'm really saying is…will you try to do well in Herbology before you give up on it?"

Teddy mock contemplated for a moment, drawing a light bulb in the air with his finger when he was ready to answer. "Give me and O on my O.W.L.S in three years, and we'll talk." He joked.

"Ha, ha, ha. Nice try."

"I'm only kidding, Professor," Teddy smirked. "I'll try it."

Neville's eyes widened. "What was that?"

"I'll try it!"

"No, no, before that." Neville tapped his hand on his chin as he said this.

"I'm just kidding, Professor?" Teddy said awkwardly. He stood, deciding that it was time to go if his Herbology teacher was acting all senile…

"You called me Professor!" Neville said giddily. He clapped his hands like a little girl.

"Don't get used to it, Neville," Teddy cackled, opening the door. He spun around to face his teacher before leaving. "See you this time next week?"

Neville grimaced. "Hopefully not." Then he cracked a grin. "But I'll be waiting."

Teddy nodded, striding out into the corridor and closing the door. Before disappearing, however, Teddy yelled, "And good luck on your date with Lovegood!"


End file.
